


Until It Doesn’t

by jdale



Series: What Happens on Terronda Stays on Terronda (Until It Doesn’t) [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alcohol, Alien Culture, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, French Kissing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 08:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21296261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdale/pseuds/jdale
Summary: When Atlantis receives an invitation to the New Year’s festival on Terronda, it prompts John and Elizabeth to finally talk about what happened on their previous visit to the planet.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir
Series: What Happens on Terronda Stays on Terronda (Until It Doesn’t) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1535168
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Until It Doesn’t

The words on Elizabeth’s screen were blurring together. Dr. Vasiliev’s English left something to be desired, which, combined with the highly technical explanations that were well above her level of understanding, made his reports nearly impossible for her to decipher. She was sorely tempted to just ask him to file his reports in his native Russian, but she knew he needed to practice his English if it was ever going to improve.

_“Incoming wormhole!”_ Chuck called from the control room.

Grateful for the interruption, Elizabeth closed her laptop and made her way out to the control room.

“It’s Lieutenant Edison’s team returning from Terronda,” Chuck informed her.

Elizabeth nodded. “Lower the shield.”

Once Chuck had done so, a single Puddle Jumper came through the Stargate, the wormhole closing behind it. As personnel from the mess hall moved in to take possession of the meat and dairy shipments they had received from the Terrondans, Elizabeth descended the steps to the gate room to speak with Lt. Edison.

“I see you all made it home in one piece,” she remarked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Edison confirmed. With a chuckle, he continued, “It was quite literally a milk run.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “Yes, I suppose it was. We’re still on schedule for the next shipment in three weeks?”

Edison nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Ma’am, there is one other thing that I’ve been asked to pass along…”

* * *

John was sparring with Teyla in the room they had set aside as a gym when he heard someone rap on the doorframe. He and Teyla both stopped fighting and turned to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway.

“Something come up?” John asked.

“Nothing immediate,” Elizabeth replied. “However, the Terrondan New Year is a week from Thursday. We’ve been invited to send a delegation to the festivities.”

“Edison’s team has been handling most of the trade with them,” John recalled. “They can be the ones to go.”

“The lieutenant informs me that all of the Terrondans’ other trading partners will be sending a delegation that includes their leaders,” Elizabeth clarified. “While I don’t disagree with you that Edison’s team should be given the opportunity to attend, your team should be included as well.”

“And you,” John surmised.

Elizabeth kept her expression neutral. “Yes.”

“How big a delegation are we talking about here?” John asked.

“Lieutenant Edison said most of their other trading partners will be sending about a dozen people,” Elizabeth told him.

“Okay, so Edison’s team and my team, that’s eight between us, you’re nine, Carson would make ten,” John said. “Any thoughts on a couple more people we might include to bring it up to an even dozen?”

“Is Doctor Beckett still romantically involved with Lieutenant Cadman?” Teyla suggested.

John pointed at her. “Good thought. Okay, so Cadman makes eleven, and if McKay and Katie Brown are still dating, there’s your dozen.”

“Good,” Elizabeth said. “And it probably doesn’t have to be exactly a dozen, so we can probably add one or two more if we think of any others who should be included.”

“If I recall correctly,” Teyla began, “we currently have a mission to M5H-403 planned for the following day. Perhaps it would be prudent to reschedule that mission?”

“Perhaps it would,” Elizabeth agreed, a hint of nervous laughter creeping into her voice.

“Is there anything we should know about their New Year’s festival that will be different from the last event we were at?” John asked.

“Only that several of the foods traditionally served at the New Year’s festival are quite spicy,” Teyla replied. “They believe it makes them less appetizing to the Wraith.”

John nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“John, could I speak to you in private for a moment?” Elizabeth requested.

Silently nodding his assent, John tossed his bantos rods on the pile in the corner of the room and followed Elizabeth out. To John’s surprise, Elizabeth led him not to her office but to her quarters.

“Nice place you got here,” John remarked idly.

Elizabeth sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her in a silent invitation for him to join her. Once he had done so, she told him, “We need to talk about last time.”

John sighed. “What about it?”

“Well, first of all, I don’t think I ever thanked you for keeping things from getting out of hand,” Elizabeth began. “A lot of men—actually, I dare say _most_ men in your position wouldn’t have been nearly as mindful of the fact that I’d been drinking.”

“Don’t mention it,” John responded. “Compared to what almost everyone else at that party got up to, you were positively _tame_.”

“Still, I imagine that must have been a highly awkward position that I put you in,” Elizabeth replied. “That being said, I may be about to make things even more awkward.”

She sighed. “I don’t know what the hell was going through my mind when I said ‘what happens on Terronda stays on Terronda.’ It’s been four months, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Your lips on mine, your tongue in my mouth, your hand on my breast…John, I care about you. A lot more than a leader should care about her second-in-command. I…after your encounter with Lieutenant Ford, when I thought you’d been killed in the explosion of the two hives…”

Seeing that Elizabeth was on the verge of tears, John began to rub soothing circles on her back with one hand.

“I knew life would have to go on without you, but…I couldn’t see how,” Elizabeth admitted. “There are days—a lot of days—when I feel like you’re the only one I can talk to, the only one who has any inkling what I’m going through, and the prospect of not having you to confide in anymore…”

“It’s okay, Lizbeth,” John said reassuringly, drawing her into an embrace. “I made it home. Just focus on that.”

“John…I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering ‘what if,’” she told him. “I want us to see where this could go.”

John shook his head, saying aloud the words he had only thought that night on Terronda. “You could never be just a fling for me, Lizbeth.”

She looked at him in confusion. “What makes you think I’m asking you for ‘just a fling’?”

“Well, you have to know the IOA would never let you keep your position if word got out—” John began.

“John, everyone in this city reports to me, whether directly or indirectly,” Elizabeth interrupted. “The human being has a basic psychological need for companionship. That’s not something you can just turn off like a light switch. The IOA cannot reasonably expect me to completely shut myself off from social interaction in my off hours just because the only people around to interact with are subordinate to me when we’re on duty.”

“And when’s the last time you heard the IOA and ‘reasonable’ mentioned in the same sentence?” John asked.

Elizabeth could only chuckle in response.

“Lizbeth, you know I want this, but…Atlantis has been more of a home to me than anywhere I ever lived on Earth, and I’m a little wary of putting myself in a position where I could potentially be forced out,” John told her.

Elizabeth smiled shyly. “I actually spoke to General O’Neill about this while we were on Earth after the siege. He said that since I’m a civilian, a relationship between us wouldn’t put you in violation of any Air Force regulations, and he also said he’d be willing to go to bat for us with the IOA should the need arise.”

John’s eyes widened in surprise. Clearly, this was something that had been on her mind even before Terronda. “That’s…do you think the IOA would actually listen to him?”

“Considering he could theoretically cut off the rest of the world’s access to the Stargate? They’d be stupid not to,” Elizabeth pointed out.

John’s eyes widened even further. “He wouldn’t actually…?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Probably not, but as long as they don’t know that for certain, it’s a hell of a saber to rattle.”

Now it was John’s turn to chuckle. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “So, do you want to give ‘us’ a try?”

A voice in the back of John’s mind, different from the one that had been berating him on Terronda, asked, _Does Atlantis feel more like home to you because of anything about the city itself or because it’s where Elizabeth is?_

Framed in that light, the answer was obvious. “Let’s do it.”

Elizabeth beamed. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

* * *

As the Atlantis delegation to the Terrondan New Year’s festival disembarked from their Jumper, Lt. Edison pulled John aside.

“I can keep a surreptitious eye on our people while we’re in there, make sure no one does anything that might jeopardize their getting home in one piece,” he offered. “You and Doctor Weir just enjoy yourselves. I know you don’t get the opportunity very often.”

John shot him a mock-reproachful glare. “Are you giving orders to a superior officer, Lieutenant?”

“No, sir. Just reassurances,” Edison replied.

As John rejoined the rest of his team, Elizabeth leaned over and asked, “What did Lieutenant Edison want?”

“He said for us to enjoy ourselves and that he would worry about keeping track of the rest of the group,” John told her.

Elizabeth smiled. “That’s nice of him.” 

John nodded in agreement, slipping an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders as they made their way inside.

Atlantis having been the last of Terronda’s trading partners to arrive, dinner was served very soon after they had been seated. While Teyla had been right that the food was spicier than what had been served on their last visit, it was still far from unbearable. _I had a lot hotter than this when I was stationed in Osan,_ John thought.

As the meal drew to a close, members of the waitstaff appeared to take their plates, replacing them with glasses that contained a small amount of golden liquid.

“Teyla, is this…?” John asked, motioning for her to explain what was going on.

“It is what I believe I once heard Doctor Brown refer to as a digestif,” Teyla informed them. As she said this, she directed a questioning look at Katie, who nodded to confirm that she had remembered the term correctly.

Giving Katie a silent smile of thanks, Teyla continued her explanation. “Each of the Terrondans’ trading partners will be invited to give a New Year’s blessing, whatever is the traditional saying in each of their cultures. Our host will then propose a toast in celebration of the new year.”

“And that’s when we drink this,” John surmised.

Teyla nodded.

One by one, their host named each of the various cultures that were represented at the festival. As each was named, a member of their delegation stood and said a few short words of thanks and blessing.

“And finally,” their host said, “we are pleased to welcome a new trading partner to our fold this year: the city of Atlantis!”

Elizabeth stood. “Thank you. It’s our pleasure to join the fold. We wish you all a happy new year.”

Once Elizabeth sat back down, their host picked up his glass. “And now, a toast. May the spirits of the Ancestors protect us and guide us as we enter this season of change.”

“Hear, hear!” the guests said as one, raising their own glasses before bringing them to their lips.

“And now let us celebrate!” their host declared, signaling the musicians to strike up the night’s first tune.

Most of their group stood and began making their way over toward the bar, leaving John and Elizabeth alone at the table.

John took Elizabeth’s right hand in his. “May I have this dance?”

Elizabeth smiled. “This and many more to come, I hope.”

John leaned over and kissed Elizabeth’s temple before they stood from the table and stepped out onto the dance floor.

“That dress looks good on you,” John murmured as they held each other close, gently swaying back and forth in time with the music.

“Thanks,” Elizabeth replied, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. “You don’t look half bad yourself.”

John leaned down slightly and whispered in her ear, “It’d look even better on the floor later tonight.”

Elizabeth’s blush deepened. “I thought we decided to take things slow.”

John smiled mischievously, his eyes twinkling. “I’m teasing you,” he singsonged.

Elizabeth sighed, rolling her eyes indulgently. “What am I ever going to do with you?”

“Nothing bad, I hope,” John said.

“Nothing too awful,” Elizabeth assured him, an evil grin slowly splitting her face. “You will have to be punished, though. I’m thinking maybe…oxygen deprivation?”

Before John could react, she was kissing him, her tongue slipping inside his mouth as he gasped in surprise. He recovered quickly though, reciprocating with equal enthusiasm, the music long forgotten as he began to run his fingers through her hair. Elizabeth let out a low moan of pleasure as she arched her back into him, her brain voiding itself of conscious thought to make more room for the sensation of their intertwined bodies. When their lips finally parted, they were both left gasping for air.

“Wow,” Elizabeth breathed, letting her head rest on John’s shoulder.

“You like?” John asked.

“Yeah,” Elizabeth replied.

As the song ended and the musicians switched to a much livelier tune, John guided Elizabeth over to the divan against one wall.

“You want something to drink?” he offered.

Elizabeth thought for a moment. “Sure, I’ll try one of those blue things Rodney was drinking last time we were here.”

John nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

He returned a moment later with a mug of beer in one hand and Elizabeth’s concoction in the other. He handed her drink to her, and they clinked glasses. “Cheers.”

After they had each taken a sip of their respective drinks, John asked, “So, what do you think?”

Elizabeth was eyeing her beverage with some trepidation. “_Definitely_ don’t let me have any more of these tonight.”

“That strong, huh?”

“This might be stronger than the pink stuff I had last time, if that’s even possible,” Elizabeth told him.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me, considering two of those were enough to put McKay down for the count,” John replied.

“Speaking of,” Elizabeth said, “how many do you think we’ll have to carry back to the Jumper at the end of the night?”

“I’ll go…eight,” John responded after a moment’s thought.

Elizabeth sighed. “I _hope_ it’s not that many, but realistically, that’s probably a pretty good guess.”

“Just be glad Teyla had the foresight to recommend rescheduling the mission that was originally going to be tomorrow,” John reminded her.

Elizabeth chuckled. “If things go similarly to the way they did last time, she’ll probably be the one most in need of the day off.”

John shuddered. “_Please_ don’t remind me.”

“It could’ve been worse,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“It was still pretty bad,” John countered.

“True,” Elizabeth admitted.

The pair settled into a comfortable silence, watching the activity on the dance floor and enjoying each other’s presence while slowly sipping their drinks.

It was John who eventually broke the silence. “You know, this place is really starting to grow on me.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Elizabeth agreed. “You can just forget about everything for a few hours, get a good meal, have a drink, maybe two if you’re brave—I’m not that brave—and just enjoy yourself for an evening.”

“Not to mention the great company,” John added, smiling at her.

Elizabeth was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. “Let’s cuddle,” she suggested, scooting closer to John and looping an arm around his shoulders.

John adjusted his own positioning and slipped an arm around her waist, resting his hand on her outer thigh.

“I wantcha to meet my mom next time we’re back on Earth,” Elizabeth told him. “I think you’d like her.”

“The real question is whether she’ll like me,” John responded.

“Oh, she’ll love you,” Elizabeth assured him. “You know how to treat a girl right. That’s the problem with being a woman in a man’s world. The men don’t wanna be seen as sexist, so they go outta their way to treat me the same as they would another man. Sometimes I feel like people just see Dr. Weir and not _‘Lizabeth_. You, I never have that problem with.”

John gave her a dopey grin. “Aww, thanks, Lizbeth.”

Elizabeth stared up at him with an equally dopey grin before nestling herself more closely into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you, John.”

John leaned down and gently kissed Elizabeth’s hair. “I love you, too, Lizbeth.”


End file.
